First Day at the New School

Big G and Griffin are adjusting very well to the new school.  Big G is fitting right in and having a good time...making new friends and having fun.  I'm so proud of her for being so open to change and embracing it.  She was a little nervous but once she saw the beaming smile on her new teacher's face, she relaxed.  We walked her to her class on the first day and her teacher was actually standing in the hall waiting on her.  She was warmly welcomed and we took a brief tour of the class and discussed how things flow.  Another student took Gracie by the hand and helped her start on her class work for the day.  It was so sweet!  I left feeling very relieved.

Things have been somewhat hectic for Griffin.  All of the teachers are working on next year's IEPs for the other students so it's hard for them to find the time to get everything done for Griff's enrollment.  We decided to let him start on his existing IEP and will work in the meeting for ST, OT, and PT later this month, as they have the time to meet with  us.  Honestly, I just want him in the atmosphere.  He craves school and needs to be there.  We decided to let him ride the bus to school because he loves it so much!  However, that means that the bus will pick him up at 0620 in the morning!  I would take him but the joy I see on his face when the bus pulls up keeps me from doing that.  I have been giving him an appetizer for breakfast and then the teacher will feed him a pack of oatmeal at school for us.

His teacher is awesome...very kind and loves children.  I haven't gotten a progress report on his first 2 days of school and I'm so antsy!  I'm dying to know how he is interacting in class.

I was on the fence with letting him ride the bus on the first day of school.  We decided to go ahead and let him do it, even though it felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest.  haha.  He was so excited!  Griffin and I had just started heading down the very long driveway to the bus stop when I realized that the gate was still locked at the end of the drive.  I didn't have my keys so I told Griffin to keep walking and I ran back to the house to get them.  He was obedient and kept walking on the paved drive, very slowly, within my sight, and did exactly what I asked him to do.  He may have made it about 5 feet in the time it took for me to run back to the house.  I praised him for doing as I asked and he had the biggest smile on his face.  He loves that I am starting to let him be more and more independent.  I let him walk all the way down the driveway, but he had to stop a few times to dance with me.  So sweet!  By the time we made it to the end of the driveway (around 10 minutes later), my sister had starting walking down, Gracie came running down the hill, and my mom was close behind.   As the bus pulled up, my mom fought tears as I loaded him on.  He sat on the first seat and was incredibly happy, signing 'bus' over and over again.  And away he went...

Needless to say, we were standing at the bus stop way too early to get him off the bus that day.  He came to me with a smile on his face and looked so incredibly content and proud.  My baby boy is trying to grow up way too fast and he needs to slow down!

Today is his 3rd day of school and I sent breakfast money with him this time.  I love that he can eat at school because it's great therapy for him.  I have a tendency to fall into very strict routines, so having fresh eyes and hands will make him step outside of his little box.

Tonight is our first ARC buddy party, pageant style!  We bought him a 4 piece suit and some awesome shoes to match.  No worries, pictures will be posted!

More to come on how our bonding experience is going!   I'm very pleased.

Love and Hugs!